


Cupcakes

by galaxystiel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Background Relationships, Deaf Dean Winchester, Flirting, M/M, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-04-20 21:11:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4802357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxystiel/pseuds/galaxystiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chocolate and maple bacon cupcakes are the best things that Castiel has ever encountered. Except maybe the guy who bakes them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cupcakes

“Gabe, did you eat the last of my cupcakes?” Castiel demanded, turning from the empty tray to glare at his brother, who was sitting stuffing his face with candy.

Gabriel’s eyes widened innocently and he turned his golden eyes on Castiel. “Of course not, Cassie, would I do such a thing to my favourite brother? You probably got up for a midnight snack and forgot about it. Although how you could forget about such a delicious sweet maple bacon and chocolate cupcake is beyond me…”

Castiel pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course Gabriel had taken it, he didn’t even know why he’d bothered asking. Or why he still hadn’t learned his lesson and started locking his food away to where Gabriel couldn’t get his greedy little hands on it. Still, that didn’t solve the issue that the cupcake he’d spent the whole day dreaming about was no more.

He could understand why Gabe had eaten it though. Those cupcakes were something special. A new store had opened downtown a few days previous and everything in the bakery section was homemade by the two brothers who owned it. They had a few other employees, but from Castiel’s brief visit, he’d only ever seen the Winchester brothers.

The tall was one called Sam and he was the one who’d checked the cupcakes out for Castiel, seeming very friendly. They’d made conversation and Castiel had found out they were new to town and that Sam’s brother did most of the baking. A direct contrast, Dean was totally different. Silent, stoic. He’d offered Castiel a brief smile as he’d passed, but made no effort to stop and make conversation with him. That had been a little disappointing, because if Castiel allowed himself to think such things, he would have decided that Dean Winchester was the most beautiful man on God’s green earth.

“Alright, you’re taking me to the store so I can get more cupcakes,” Castiel told Gabe firmly, scowling at his older brother. “Now, because it shuts in about thirty minutes and I want dessert.”

Gabriel groaned, but decided not to argue. Probably because he wanted access to more of the cupcakes too. “Alright, alright, keep your tie on, Cassie,” he huffed, fishing up his car keys. Gabriel made a dramatic sweeping gesture, waiting for Castiel to leave, before following him out.

When they got to the store, Castiel started in shock as Gabriel grabbed his sleeve. “Cassie!” He hissed, letting go abruptly to smooth down his hair. “You didn’t tell me about the tall hunk of man meat that works here! I’d have put on a better shirt!”

Castiel rolled his eyes and followed Gabe’s line of sight. “Sam? Oh, he owns the place with his brother,” he started to explain, but it was plain that Gabriel wasn’t paying attention to anything other than Sam Winchester, and was already walking towards him. Castiel just hoped that he didn’t say anything too inappropriate. He wanted to come back here, already pretty sure he couldn’t survive without those cupcakes.

He ducked around the corner, walking down through the bakery. He could spot where the cupcakes usually were at the end, and to his joy, it looked like that was a small box left. Speeding up in case someone else had designs on his treat, Castiel frowned when he saw another guy appear around the corner and stop in front of the cupcakes.

A moment later he realised it was Dean, and smiled softly. Not another customer. Satisfied his dessert was safe, he carried on walking over. Castiel watched as Dean began pulling items from the shelf and stacking them on a trolley. Dismay spread across his face as Castiel watched Dean reach for the cupcakes and he hurried over. Dean’s back was towards him, so he hadn’t seen Castiel yet.

“Excuse me? I was wondering if I could have those?” He asked, hesitantly, since it was clear Dean was disposing of the leftover goods.

Silence. Dean didn’t even turn around or acknowledge his words. Castiel blinked for a moment and then spoke a little louder. “Hey, excuse me?”

When Dean still didn’t speak, Castiel took a step around him, getting into his line of sight and catching his eye. “Hey, I was wondering if I could have those cupcakes?” He smiled warmly, despite his slight irritation with Dean’s ignorance.

Dean stared at him blankly, and Castiel was about to lose his patience and ask what his problem was, when his eye caught sight of a red sticker on the front of Dean’s shirt. Suddenly everything made sense, and Castiel was infinitely glad he didn’t call the other guy out on his manners.

_I’m Deaf._

“Oh,” Castiel breathed, his eyes returning to meet Dean, who had frowned and started to turn away. Clearly, this had happened a lot and he was expecting to be dismissed. Reaching out, Castiel waved to catch his attention, knowing that Dean probably wouldn’t want to be touched.

Slowly, his hands began to form shapes as he signed out the question. He was a little rusty, and couldn’t remember the sign for cupcakes, but he got his message across by pointing. Castiel told himself it wasn’t a bonus when he saw the surprise in Dean’s eyes, which quickly morphed into a look of warmth.

 _Of course, take them._ Dean seemed to understand that he needed to sign back slowly, and added another sign that Castiel didn’t recognise. When Dean pointed at the tray of cupcakes, Castiel suddenly realised that the green eyed man was teaching him the sign he didn’t know.

 _Thanks. It’s been a while since I signed. My sister is deaf, but she lives across state so I don’t see her often_ , Castiel explained slowly, starting to become a little more confident as he got back into the swing of things. _Those cupcakes are amazing, by the way._

A smile touched Dean’s lips and he smiled, running his hand through his hair in an almost shy gesture. _Thank you. I baked them myself. Didn’t you only buy some yesterday?_

Castiel flushed at the knowledge that Dean had noticed him, and probably thought he was just super greedy with buying two packs of four in two days. _My brother Gabriel is a walking advertisement for diabetes. He stole my last cupcake and it was exactly what I was craving. So I made him bring me here for more._

Dean’s smile widened into a grin and he let out a silent laugh at the words, nodding quickly in understanding. After a moment he started looking around, before turning to Castiel with a questioning expression, clearly asking where Gabriel was.

_He’s at the front, probably harassing your brother. He was practically drooling when we walked in the door, and surprisingly, it wasn’t at the food._

Dean laughed again, a sight that filled Castiel with warmth and was quickly becoming his favourite sight, despite the lack of sound. _I’m Dean. Do you live close by?_

 _Castiel_. The look of confusion was obvious, so Castiel spelled his name out twice, before telling Dean just to call him Cas. Spelling his name out would take too much time. _I live a few blocks away, so I’m probably going to be a regular._

 _Good_. Dean looked at him with a slightly flush to his cheeks after that sign, and Castiel quickly found himself blushing too at the obvious flirtation.

The corners of his mouth turned up quickly, and he was about to say something else when he heard Gabriel calling for him.

“Cassie, hurry up! Samsquatch is waiting to close! Where the hell are you?”

So there was a nickname already, which meant that the conversation had probably gone exactly how Gabriel wanted it to. Castiel turned and called out that he was coming now, and smiled wistfully at Dean. _I better go and check out so you can close. It was great to meet you, Dean. I hope to see you around._

To his surprise, Dean abandoned the trolley and opted to walk with him to the checkout, where Sam was waiting dutifully, with Gabriel practically sitting on the counter to talk to him. It was clear from both of their expressions that they’d hit it off pretty well.

“Hi Sam,” Castiel greeted mildly, placing the cupcakes down on the counter. “Sorry I took so long, I got caught chatting to your brother.”

It was clear from Sam’s face that he was confused, until Dean quickly signed something behind him and his face softened into a smile. “You can sign? That’s great, it’ll be good for Dean to have a conversation with someone other than me.” He began to ring up the purchase.

Castiel cleared his throat when it came to paying and winked at Dean as Gabriel begrudgingly handed over the money for the cupcakes. It made Dean laugh silently again and he felt proud of himself, enough that he decided to be bold and take the next step.

_Coffee sometime?_

Maybe it was something about Dean, but he’d almost forgotten that both Sam and Gabriel could sign. He ignored the sound of his brother choking and pointedly gazed at Dean, waiting for an answer. The green eyed man seemed taken aback, but not in an unpleasant way. In fact, Dean’s expression quickly settled into one of happiness and he nodded enthusiastically.

 _That would be great_. He followed it up with another sign, hands touching his own shoulders briefly before turning outwards. Castiel didn’t recognise the gesture but whatever it meant caused Dean to blush furiously, heading back into the aisles.

Straightening up and ignoring his brother’s cackling, he turned to Sam and sheepishly asked, “What was that last sign? I didn’t understand it.”

Sam grinned and handed Castiel the bag, saying nothing as he ushered them towards the door so he could lock up. It was only when Castiel and Gabriel had stepped out into the street that he spoke up.

“It was ‘angel’,” he called after them with a wide grin on his face. “He called you angel.”

There was a spring in Castiel’s step as he walked back to his car, and it had absolutely nothing to do with cupcakes.

**Author's Note:**

> [MY TUMBLR](http://blueeyedangel.co.vu)


End file.
